10:00am Tuesday 15th December 2009
A TEENAGE girl who died as a result of a sustained attack in a Burnley park had suffered at least fifteen blows to the head and neck with a heavy object.
The jury in a Preston Crown Court trial have been told by a Home Office pathologist that eighteen-year-old Louise Evans had received a number of fractures to facial bones.
She died from head and neck injuries delivered in Townley Park during the summer.
Matthew Maw, 19, has admitted murdering her. A second young man, 21-year-old Anthony Wood, denies murder and is currently on trial at the crown court.
Louise and the two men had been residents of a hostel on Elizabeth Street, Burnley at the time. She was attacked in the early hours of July 21.
Home Office Pathologist Dr Philip Lumd told the court that the cause of her death was head and neck injuries.
He said she had suffered at least fifteen blows to the head and neck with something weighty. The number of blows inflicted were probably higher than fifteen.
There had been a severe level of violence, the court was told, and there were extensive injuries of the facial bones.
The pathologist also said that Louise had had an incised wound to her neck and also a stab wound to her right cheek. In his opinion, they would have been caused by a sharp instrument.
She also had a stab wound to the chest, the blade of the knife being found in her and the handle missing. The knife had penetrated right through the stomach.
The trial continues.
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